“Why, why...”
Yasiris hesitated and withdrew her hand, then clenched her teeth.
Ignoring the trembling in her entire body, she tightly tightened her grip around Kazan's neck.
'I must kill him. now'
This was an action I took with that determination from the beginning.
Since she had already started, she had to see it through to the end.
But…
“Sari...”
Why?
Without even resisting, you touch me with that endless face?
What am I to you?
You despise me so much, yet you call me with a faint smile even in the agony of death.
“Sari...”
“I told you not to call me that!!”
Yasiris screamed, her emotions intertwined beyond description.
Kazan's incomprehensible words and actions aroused not only anger, but even fear in her.
"Why are you doing this?
Why to me?"
Yasiris's breathing became shorter.
Her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn't use proper force.
The crucial reason she decided to kill was because he didn't see her as a person.
A cup, a toy, a doll… Having been treated like this, Yasiris could only see Kazan as a tyrant.
A man who will kill her and her child.
Not a husband, not a savior, but an enemy worthy of death.
But look...look what he's doing now.
A smile you've never seen before.
Eyes you've never seen before.
A sound you've never heard before.
If he was planning to survive with a body that could barely move, it was such a cunning, calculated act that it was frightening.
Because it pricked the conscience of a woman who lived her life right.
“…the worst”
Yasiris realized too late that the little voice she muttered was her own.
This was that subconscious statement, and it was true.
“You're really, really the worst.”
Whatever she said, her face twisted in defeat, did not reach Kazan.
His breathing was a bit freer, but he was still in a foggy state of mind, and he touched Yasiris's cheek and struggled to speak.
“That's right”
Yasiris paused at the unexpected formality.
I already realized he was out of his senses, but this was excessive.
“Do you even understand what I'm saying now?”
“Your words...”
“You're not just agreeing with me blindly, without hearing me, are you?”
“Yes, Yasiris...”
“…Is all this just to make fun of me?”
“Yasaris...”
It was not a conversation, but an exchange of monologues and one-sided calls.
Realizing this, Yasiris sighed.
A sickening mixture of tangled discomfort and emptiness rose and then subsided.
Feeling lost in what she was doing now, she cast a blank look outside the hideout.
The moon shone brightly through the leaves and vines.
Despite her complicated feelings, seeing the clear sky brought other thoughts creeping into her.
Could there be a situation involving a woman named Sari?
Perhaps the name of a former deceased lover of his was Sari.
“…it could be so.”
People say that there is always at least one person in the world who looks like someone else, so he might confuse me with her.
The hypothesis that suddenly came to Yasiris seemed quite plausible.
As I put the pieces of the situation together based on this new guess, many of the previously incomprehensible parts began to make sense.
He took me as an empress out of nowhere.
I despise myself but have terrific pride in my body.
Obsession with me despite having concubines.
Don't usually call me by my name.
And now, unable to differentiate things properly, he calls me Sari and treats me differently.
That's it.
“So that's why he...”
She faced Yasiris Kazan, who looked at her lightly.
Given its high temperature, it was no surprise that it confused people.
Or perhaps he considered it a dream of seeing a dead woman.
You had a pure heart after all.
She couldn't distinguish the emotion in her voice.
He looked dry, but the feelings tangled within her clung and emerged.
a surprise. anger. injustice. emptiness. discontent. overwork.
Unable to tell which one was predominant, she muttered faintly.
“I should have killed you a long time ago.
A long time ago...”
“…Sari”
Yasiris did not respond to Kazan's call.
She was extremely mentally and physically exhausted.
She felt as if the fatigue of a long and very difficult day was hitting her all at once.
Oooh....
Even when she heard the distant howls of monsters, she did not feel a sense of crisis.
In her dulled senses, she exchanged a confused look with Kazan.
Red eyes.
Thinking back, she also had moments of confusion sometimes.
It was because of those extremely rare red eyes.
When he would hug her or display his obsessive behavior, she would often think of Ken in defense of herself.
She was putting her dead lover above her husband to protect her sanity.
However, the last thought that came to her was always strange.
If it had been Kane instead of Kazan, it wouldn't have been so miserable.
How different are eye colors?
“I hate you”
Yasiris muttered words she had already said several times today.
Her voice, exhausted and cracked, was full of fatigue.
“But if I kill you now, it will be good for you.
You will meet her.”
Yasiris was sure that the Kazan woman was dead.
Otherwise, he would not have taken her as empress.
There was no other reason for him to despise her so much and refuse to leave her.
“Instead, I will take my sari back from you.
I look forward to seeing you after losing her replacement.”
This was the greatest revenge you could take.
I announced this under the moonlight to someone who seemed to hear nothing.
It was a night with another reason to escape.
Yasiris only woke up when the sun was high in the sky.
Even though she spent half the day sleeping, her body was heavy and limp, indicating that she was in a very bad state.
“Do I have a fever...?”
She placed her hand on her head, which felt dizzy.
She tried to check her temperature, but her hand was also hot, rendering it useless.
Judging by the chills running through her body, she diagnosed herself as having the flu.
"Yes."
Yasiris sighed involuntarily.
She moved excessively with her infected body, so it was no wonder she came down with the flu.
Combined with the hours spent in the rain, it was fortunate that the after effects had only just hit.
…Even though she knew this rationally, the feeling of helplessness was inevitable.
She needed to escape at the right moment, but with her body in this state, it seemed like she would have to stay and rest for the time being.
“Ah...”
Yasiris thought the soft moan she heard came from her mouth.
But she turned around and saw Kazan frowning and moving his fingers, and the low voice was clearly not hers.
“Damn…”
“I woke up”
“Empress”
His half-open red eyes turned to her.
He seemed somewhat clear-headed, his focus sharper than the day before.
No matter how many times she saw him, he had an amazing body.
The antipyretic she had given him yesterday had not worked at all, yet he seemed to recover on his own overnight.
Ah, antipyretic.
Yasiris felt the pile of weeds that had pushed her into the corner.
She tore off a bitter herb and chewed it, noticing Kazan's gaze following her.
“Are you sick?”
“It's just a mild flu.”
Dizziness, fever, severe muscle pain, and chills.
Yasiris stubbornly hid her condition, not wanting to show weakness in front of Kazan.
“So...”
Kazan brought out his words uncharacteristically.
While Yasiris tensed under his scrutinizing gaze, his next request was surprisingly light.
“Can you give me some water?
My throat is dry.”
...He doesn't remember anything from last night.
Yasiris felt a wave of relief.
Although she hoped he wouldn't remember, she was worried about saying too much.
Now she reassured herself.
But then, discomfort followed.
How could he make her go through all this turmoil and then recover peacefully?
“I'm not well enough to take a trip to the river.”
Half truth, half spite, she refused coldly, and Kazan remained silent.
She expected him to give up, but instead, he looked at her with a strange expression and said something terrible.
“Even your saliva will do the trick.”
Is he serious?
Yasiris stared at Kazan in disbelief.
Her dizziness, which was already making her head spin, seemed to intensify.
People change when they are about to die.
Or maybe he still confuses me with that Sari woman?
Perhaps his long illness affected his mind.
Or maybe he was more desperate than he looked.
Yasiris pushed aside all the thoughts running through her head.
She rested her forehead on her hand as if she was going to have to endure a headache, sighed and stood up.
“I'll go”
The bitter taste of the herbs lingered in her dry mouth.
She needed water as much as he did.
“Hoo…”
Yasiris stopped on her way to the river and leaned against a tree.
Under the shade of the lush leaves, her head grew cold, and she felt a sense of futility.
Symptoms that were tolerable while lying down or sitting began to worsen as soon as she stood up and started walking.
The heaviness and pain in her body was nothing compared to the muscle pain after her encounters with Kazan.
“Should I go back?”
Yasiris bit her dry lips.
The river was not far away, but returning empty-handed would reveal to Kazan just how bad her condition was.
“Should I run away?”
This was also impractical.
Leaving the shelter she found in the seemingly endless forest was not an option with her body in such a state.
Really…
“I'm exhausted”
Yasiris took a moment to rest, leaning against the tree.
As she sat there, staring expressionlessly into the distance, a small fruit caught her attention.
“Oh.”
It was the same fruit she had eaten the day before to satisfy her hunger.
The pulp was abundant and could serve as a substitute for water.
“At least I will have something to eat.”
I sighed in relief and stood up.
She slowly gathered the fruit, scanning the area for more edible items when a noise erupted from one side of the forest.
Bang-!
Bang-!
Bang-!
Yasiris froze.
The sudden flight of a flock of birds from not far away did not seem normal.
There was also a faint, heavy banging sound.
Trouble was approaching.
Bang-!
Bang-!
Her heart beat loudly.